Pack-carrying apparatus

ABSTRACT

A unit has a rectangular leather sheet with a main strap affixed thereto and cross straps slidably mounted thereon for securing a pack thereto.

[72] Inventor Cecil Raymond Smith [56] References Cited P.0. Box 29, Clarkston, Wash. 99403 UNITED STATES PATENTS $5 $3 3 1969 995,458 6/1911 Harriman 224 12 451 Patented 0ct.5, 1 971 FOREIGN PATENTS 18,734 9/1901 Great Britain 224/1 1 217,098 1/1942 Switzerland... 224/8 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza R ING APPARATUS Assistant Examiner-RobertJ. Spar [54] g zf gg g Figs. Att0rneyWells, St. John & Roberts [521 US. Cl 224/12 [51] Int.Cl A45f 3/04 ABSTRACT: A unit has a rectangular leather sheet with a [50] Field of Search 224/9. 8. main strap affixed thereto and cross straps slidably mounted 43, 44, 11, 12, 25.1 thereon for securing a pack thereto.

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to pack-carrying apparatus. One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a versatile pack-carrying unit that can be adapted for various size loads and can be easily loaded on a pack animal or on ones back.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a packcarrying unit that is flexible and widely adjustable.

A further object of this invention is to provide such a unit that is inexpensively manufactured yet will last for many years.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pack-carrying apparatus embodying the principals of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a pack attached to the apparatus; and

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the apparatus and pack shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is shown a pack-carrying apparatus or unit, generally designated by the arrow 10, for receiving and securing a pack 11 to mount on a pack animal or alternatively on ones back. The unit is capable of being adjusted to carry a wide range of loads. Generally the load is surrounded by a cloth or canvas covering 12.

One of the basic elements of the unit is a semiflexible sheet 14, preferably made of leather or heavy canvas. The sheet 14 has a substantially rectangular outline with ends 15 and 16 and sides 17 and 18. The end 15 has corners 20 and 21. The sheet has a front face 22 that engages the pack 11 and a back face 23 that engages the pack saddle or the like.

The unit 10 has mounting straps 25 and 26 that are affixed to upper end 15 at the corners 20 and 21. Each of the straps 25 and 26 have two interconnectable sections 27 and 28. One end of sections 27 and 28 are affixed to the back face 23 by spaced rivets 32 and 33 to form leather keeper loops 34 and 35. The other ends of the section 27 and 28 have a buckle 37 and a tongue 38 respectively that can be adjustably interconnected to form-mounting loops 40 and 41 (FIG. 3).

The mounting loops 40 and 41 are quite versatile and may be placed either over the horns of a pack saddle or run through loops on the pack saddle or hung over a riding saddle. Alternately if the pack is to be carried by a human being the loops 40 and 41 slip over the arms to hold the pack on the persons back.

An elongated main leather strap 45 is mounted on the sheet 14 for extending around the major dimension of the pack. In this application the strap 45 is midway between the sides 17 and 18 with one end 48 extending beyond the upper end 15 and another end 50 extending to beyond the lower end 16 so that when the ends of the strap are interconnected, the loop 53 formed thereby has a circumference twice that of the length of the sheet 14. The main strap 45 is secured to the back face 23 by leather keeper loops 46 and 47 that are riveted to the sheet adjacent the upper and lower edges. A buckle 51 is affixed to one end of the strap 45 and a tongue is formed on the other end so that the strap may be wrapped around the pack and tightened to secure the pack to the unit. In one application it was found that a strap length of 10 feet performed satisfactorily.

Spaced leather keeper loops 54, 55 and 56 are riveted to the back of the strap 45 with the keeper loops 54 and 56 spaced to prevent any substantial sliding movement of the strap 45 in the keeper loops 46 and 47. This helps to prevent the pack from slipping downward on the sheet.

Leather keeper loops 63 and 64 are riveted along the edge of side 17 and leather keeper loops 66 and 67 are riveted along the edge of side 18.

Cross straps 60, 61 and 62 are mounted on the back of the sheet 14 at spaced intervals, substantially perpendicular to the main strap 45 for circumseribing the pack around its minor dimension. The upper cross strap 60 is slidably threaded through the keeper loops 34, 35 and 54. The center cross strap 61 is slidably threaded through the keeper loops 63, 55 and 66. The lower strap 62 is slidably threaded through the keeper loops 64, 56 and 67. Buckles 70 are affixed to one end of each of the straps 60, 61 and 62 for interconnecting with tongues 71 formed on the other ends. When the ends of the cross straps 60, 61 and 62 are latched together, the loops formed thereby have a circumference greater than twice that of the width of the sheets 14. The cross straps hold the pack from moving laterally with respect to the sheet. In one application the strap 60, 61 and 62 were 6 feet long.

Under some circumstances, it may be desirable to mount the pack crosswise to the flexible sheet 14 with the main strap 45 extending through the keeper loops 63 and 66 and about the major dimension of the pack. The cross strap 60, 61 and 62 would be mounted on the sheet 14 perpendicular to the main strap 45 and extend beyond the ends 15 and 16 and around the girth of the load.

If desired ancillary straps 76 and 77 may be attached to the back of the sheet 14 parallel with the longitudinal strap 45 for holding the unit in a rolled-up condition when the apparatus is not in use. The straps 76 and 77 are riveted to the sheet at points 78 and 79 respectively.

From this description, one can readily appreciate the versatility and simplicity of this unit. It provides for extremely easy handling of the pack.

It should be understood that this embodiment is simply illustrative of the principals of this invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A pack-carrying apparatus comprising:

a generally rectangular semiflexible sheet having two ends and two sides;

a plurality of mounting straps affixed to and extending from one end of the sheet adjacent the corners and adapted to be interconnected to form-mounting loops extending from said one end;

a main longitudinal pack strap slidably mounted across the sheet with strap ends extending from the sheet having a connected length between the ends of the sheet greater than the sheet length;

a plurality of cross-pack straps slidably mounted across the sheet substantially perpendicular to the main strap with strap ends extending from the sheet for securing the pack to the sheet;

buckles affixed to one end of the longitudinal strap and the cross straps for securing the other ends thereto;

keepers affixed to the sheet adjacent the edges for slidably receiving the main longitudinal strap and the cross straps; and

in which the mounting straps are affixed to said one end at spaced locations so as to fonn keepers for receiving and retaining one of the cross straps across said one end.

2. A pack-carrying apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the main and cross strips are interconnected with the cross straps being slidable with respect to the main strap.

3. A pack-carrying apparatus as defined in claim I wherein keepers are affixed on the main strap for slidably receiving the cross straps. 

1. A pack-carrying apparatus comprising: a generally rectangular semiflexible sheet having two ends and two sides; a plurality of mounting straps affixed to and extending from one end of the sheet adjacent the corners and adapted to be interconnected to form-mounting loops extending from said one end; a main longitudinal pack strap slidably mounted across the sheet with strap ends extending from the sheet having a connected length between the ends of the sheet greater than the sheet length; a plurality of cross-pack straps slidably mounted across the sheet substantially perpendicular to the main strap with strap ends extending from the sheet for securing the pack to the sheet; buckles affixed to one end of the longitudinal strap and the cross straps for securing the other ends thereto; keepers affixed to the sheet adjacent the edges for slidably receiving the main longitudinal strap and the cross straps; and in which the mounting straps are affixed to said one end at spaced locations so as to form keepers for receiving and retaining one of the cross straps across said one end.
 2. A pack-carrying apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the main and cross strips are interconnected with the cross straps being slidable with respect to the main strap.
 3. A pack-carrying apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein keepers are affixed on the main strap for slidably receiving the cross straps. 